Dickov still denied his dynamic duo

ON THE STRIKE: Dale Stephens (left) lines up a shot against Colchester.

THE unwanted breaking up of Athletic’s ‘silk and steel’ midfield duo appears to have had a dramatic effect on the team’s fortunes.

Up until the derby draw at Huddersfield last month, Dale Stephens and Dean Furman had partnered one another in central midfield in 29 of 31 league and cup matches this season.

Furman — the more combative of the pairing — was absent for the two other games. One was the embarrassing 3-2 FA Cup defeat at Accrington in which he was rested, the other a ground-out 1-0 win at Accrington he missed through suspension.

At the Galpharm Stadium and for the three fixtures afterwards, playmaker-in-chief Stephens missed out through illness.

And by the time he returned, Furman had picked up a 10th booking of the campaign which meant he had to sit out two matches.

The facts are these: up until the duo were separated, Athletic sat sixth in the npower League One table.

Now, following a run of eight matches without a win — a period in which the team have picked up only three points, scoring twice — Paul Dickov’s men have dropped dramatically, hinged on the old ‘teletext split’ precipice where the table divides into its top and bottom sections.

It is a coincidence? Certainly, problems at either end of the field have contributed to the dramatic slide. Chances have not been tucked away by a misfiring strike force and a series of defensive calamities have been costly.

But central midfield is not known as the ‘engine room’ for nothing. Furman and Stephens work so well in tandem because their respective talents complement each other so well; the former hustles, harries and plays the simple passes while the latter is constantly looking to find a yard of space in which to breathe and fire out telling contributions.

When one of the two is removed, the team doesn’t appear to run as smoothly.

Dickov would never explicitly argue as much. That is partly out of loyalty to players like Chris Taylor, Sam Mantom and Ritchie Jones who have operated in central midfield, to varying degrees of success, during the meantime.

However, the Scot has said that Stephens and Furman, along with similarly influential defensive figures Reuben Hazell and Sunderland star Jean-Yves Mvoto, have been among the premier crop of performers in his first year of management.

“The last thing I am going to do is make excuses about anything,” said Dickov.

“We are here, working hard and should be doing the right things.

“But when you look at the run we are on, in any given game we have been without three or four of our better performers this year — Jean, Reuben, Dale Stephens and Dean Furman.

“You can’t get away from that fact.

“I wanted to get together a squad that could deal with injuries, suspensions and illness with players capable of coming in.

“But I still do believe that they can. The players have to have a bit more belief about themselves.”